Mines Minister Commends Sea Wright Mining Company
On Wednesday 14th July 2021, Minister of Mines, Timothy Kabba, at a ceremony held at the Military’s Joint Logistics Centre at Murray Town, officially handed over a consignment of medical supplies comprising of assorted Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) worth some $1 million to the National CoronaVirus Emergency Response Centre (NaCOVERC) boss, Sheku F. Bangura, who also doubles as the Deputy Minister of Finance 2. The meeting was graced by senior members of the military at the JLC, Mines Ministry officials, representatives of Sea Wright Mining Company, officials of NaCOVERC and members of the press. The short program was moderated by Larry Bassie from NaCOVERC.
Making the handing over of the two containers of PPEs to the head of NaCOVERC, Minister Timothy Kabba said that though COVID-19 has had its toll on the mining sector, he is pleased that Sierra Leone has been the country with the lowest deaths from the disease globally, which is as a result of the measures put in place by President Bio, including the setting up of NaCOVERC. He furthered that his ministry has been engaged with mining companies in the country on various actions to reduce and stem the spread of the virus in the country, adding that in this regard the Sea Wright Mining Company is noteworthy here, as it has in diverse ways contributed to the fight against the virus.
He furthered the company has mining concessions in various parts of the country and in some of these concession areas, it has not commenced operations, but has been contributing the development of those communities in diverse ways. He disclosed that after engagement with the company on ways to help in the current third wave that has hit the country, the management of the company was able to provide funding to the tune of over $900,000 for the procurement and shipment of medical supplies to the country, and today two containers are being handed over to the NaCOVERC. He commended Sea Wright for their support and hoped that others will emulate their example.
Receiving the consignment, Deputy Minister of Finance 2, who is also the Head of NaCOVERC, Sheku F. Bangura, expressed appreciation to the minister for his relentless effort in the fight against the virus, expressing hope that as the country has been able to defeat the first two waves of the disease, she will be able to do the same with the third wave. He disclosed that health workers who are at the frontline of the fight against the virus need these PPEs and that the arrival of the items is timely. He furthered that the government has made tremendous efforts in securing medical supplies to fight the virus, and actions have been taken to get more supplies in, but these are being hampered by delay in shipment. He thus appreciated the arrival of these items, as it will go a long way to help protect the front line workers.
Minister Bangura noted that with the third wave of the disease surfacing in the country, demand for more PPEs and medical supplies has grown, as there has been a surge in the cases in the country. He assured all that the PPEs will be distributed to the various hospitals across the country for use, and advised healthcare workers to make good use of the supplies. He disclosed that all health workers are being encouraged to take the vaccines, as they are the priority group, because they face the Virus in the course of their work. He also encouraged others to make good use of the opportunity provided by the vaccination program and get vaccinated.
Earlier on the moderator Larry Bassie of NaCOVERC commended the Mines Minister for his proactive steps in ensuring that the protective items are procured and expressed gratitude to the company for their support to the government.
The meeting was climaxed by a symbolic handing over of a few boxes of the PPEs by the Mines Minister, Timothy Kabba, to the NaCOVERC HEAD AND Deputy Minister 2 of Finance Sheku F Bangura.